Influences on Secondary School Students¿ Career Preference

The study investigated the influence of personal and home background variables on secondary school students¿ career preference in Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District. Seven research questions and corresponding seven null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. The population of this study comprised all the 15,202 (7068 males and 8134 females) senior secondary school students in all the 72 public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District, Nigeria. The sample size of 588 senior secondary two students (280 males and 308 females) was obtained through stratified random sampling technique, representing 15 per cent of the entire population. Instrument for data collection was adapted from Bakare¿s Vocational Preference Inventory. Findings of the study revealed that birth order, gender, family size, fathers¿ educational status, mothers¿ occupation and parents¿ desire have significant influence on students¿ career preference.